While I do not allow posts on the board for cavaliers that are for sale, I do recognise that sometimes people spot cavaliers that are likely BYB (backyard breeders, those who casually breed any two cavaliers and do not health test properly or know anything about the genetic and health issues that can easily arise from casual breeding) or ex-puppy farm/mill breeding dogs or dogs at risk of being sold for breeding. I know that some people would view these as rescue situations and wish to help in some way.

While I will not allow such dogs to be posted here (by linking to an ad, copying it here, or giving the contact details for the seller), it is fine for people to post that they know of a dog in such a situation and to suggest people contact them *privately* for further information. It may be that someone on the board will be looking for another dog or know of someone looking for a dog who would be willing to pay for it. NB: if I find that someone is posting in this way in order to sell a dog themselves, they will be blocked from using the board.

Regarding my own Irish Cavalier Rescue: in general I really do not have the funds to buy dogs out of uncertain situations, especially not dogs that are simply being offered for sale by pet owners in small ads. I also prefer to avoid putting rescue money into the hands of BYBs or puppy farmers anyway, except in special circumstances... and in between the cost of the dog and additional vet costs, I cannot recoup my own costs on such dogs.

I have taken in several puppy farm dogs recently in unfortunate situations and while I was willing to make those arrangements, those dogs have exhausted my spare funding for this type of rescue situation (I need to maintain a small surplus for unexpected vet costs). Therefore in the majority of situations, I cannot take in any further dogs that are being sold -- it really is not the way I wish to do rescue and is beyond my financial capacity. If there's a situation where you know the dogs are in bad circumstances and are at risk, please contact me privately and I will see what I can do. But in most circumstances if a board member wants to let others know of dogs in such a situation, please follow the guidelines above for posting to let people know there are at-risk dogs someone may wish to purchase, and make it a private effort.

If members decide to pool together to purchase a dog to place with me in rescue rather than keep it themselves, please clear this with me or Tara (TKC on the board) *first*. Taking in a dog involves more than just getting it from the seller -- it will need evaluation, foster for perhaps many weeks, vet care, homechecks made to place the dog, etc. These cannot always be arranged and I am always short of fosters so it is very important to make sure I can manage an additional dog.

One very important aspect of doing rescue responsibly is realising your own limits and knowing you can't save every single animal -- and that some dogs do not actually need intervention by rescue (I would put the private sale of dogs by owners into that category 99% of the time). I do know my limits, and that means I cannot always take in a cavalier.

And one final important note: While people are welcome to take private action to help a dog that I cannot help, I won't let the board be used to facilitate this if dogs aren't then rehomed using proper, responsible rescue approaches (eg vetchecks, neuter or spay, homechecks, an evaluation of temperament either by a professional or through fostering, and a willingness to provide full backup to the adopting home and to take back a dog at any time, for the life of the dog). Otherwise the dog may end up back in rescue or a bad situation in future. Rescue's goal is always to guarantee, as best as possible, a better life for the rescued animal so it is really important to make sure dogs are taken in and placed responsibly. :)

Karlin

20th August 2007, 01:34 PM

I will be raising the homing fee that I charge for cavaliers. After some consideration, I have decided to include a microchip as part of the vet checks I have done -- this way at least a dog will be returned to me if lost and scanned and the adopting family will only need to go in and change the database entry. I also will include worming and defleaing as standard. I know from working with general rescue that a chip is much more reliable than a collar and tags as the latter can get lost or be removed. I feel it is best practice to have this already done rather than leave it up to new owners.

This means as standard, cavaliers from Irish Cavalier Rescue (http://www.ckcsrescue.com) will be neutered, vaxed, wormed and deflea'd, and chipped, and supplied with a collar and harness when needed.

The new adoption fee will be €200-250 depending on whether the dog is male or female (neuters are cheaper than spays).